IKEA founder Ingvar Kamprad dies at 91 after ‘brief illness’

IKEA founder Ingvar Kamprad, a farmer’s son turned multi-billionaire who revolutionised kit furniture, has died aged 91, leaving behind a global empire under investigation over its tax practices, the firm said overnight.

Kamprad “passed away peacefully surrounded by his loved ones” at his home in the southern Swedish region of Smaland on Saturday “following a brief illness”, IKEA said in a statement.

“The founder of IKEA and Ikano, and one of the greatest entrepreneurs of the 20th century, Ingvar Kamprad, has peacefully passed away, at his home in Smaland, Sweden, on the 27th of January,” the company statement read.

“(He) was a great entrepreneur of the typical southern Swedish kind — hardworking and stubborn, with a lot of warmth and a playful twinkle in his eye. Ingvar will be very missed and warmly remembered by his family and IKEA colleagues around the world.”

“We are deeply saddened by Ingvar’s passing. We will remember his dedication and commitment to ordinary people,” Torbjorn Loof, CEO and president of Inter IKEA Group, continued.

“Ingvar Kamprad was a unique entrepreneur who has meant a lot for Swedish business and who has made home furnishing available for many people, not just the few,” Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven told TT news agency.

The company has long been the world’s largest furniture retailer with 412 stores across 49 countries.

EARLY LIFE

Born in 1926 to a farming family in Smaland, Kamprad, whose 2017 fortune was estimated at A$60 billion according to the Swiss economic magazine Bilan, founded the company in 1943 at the age of 17 and sold replicas of his uncle Ernst’s kitchen table.
The name came from his initials, IK, with an E for Elmtaryd, the family farm where he grew up, and an A for Agunnaryd, his home village.

He came up with the idea of flat-packed furniture when he was trying to fit a table into the boot of his car.

In 1947 the young Kamprad started selling furniture made by local artisans, and four years later he began putting out the first of his mail order catalogues — which now have an annual print run of 200 million copies in 33 languages.

IKEA’s revolutionary self-assembly model — which would cut transport and storage costs — was conceived in 1956 after an employee suggested table legs be removed so the package would fit into a car.

His early success came from squeezing prices to undercut established competitors.

Two years later Kamprad opened IKEA’s first store in Almhult, south of his hometown.

From 1970, IKEA conquered major markets in Europe, North America, Asia and the Middle East, thriving on the spending power of the emerging middle class in countries like post-Cold War Russia.

The IKEA group now has 403 stores across every continent, employs 190,000 people worldwide and generates annual sales of A$60 billion.

CAREER MARKED BY CONTROVERSY

Kamprad faced harsh criticism in the past for his ties to the Nazi youth movement during World War II.

Sweden was neutral during the war, but its Nazi party remained active after 1945.

But Kamprad said he stopped attending its meetings in 1948, later attributing the period to the “folly of youth”, calling it “the greatest mistake of my life”.

In 1994, Swedish newspaper Expressen reported that Mr Kamprad had contacts with Swedish fascist leader Per Engdahl in the 1940s and 1950s.

In a letter to employees, he admitted that he once had sympathies for the far-right leader and called it “a part of my life which I bitterly regret”.

He also faced questions about his past again in 2011 after author Elisabeth Asbrink said he had been an active recruiter for a Swedish Nazi group.

She also claimed he remained close to sympathisers well after the Second World War.

In 1973 he fled Sweden’s higher tax structure for Denmark before seeking even lower taxes in Switzerland.

Kamprad announced in 2013 that he would be stepping down from the board of Inter IKEA, owner of the furniture giant’s concept and brand, and his youngest son became chairman. The IKEA founder returned to Sweden the following year.

The European Commission announced last year that it had launched an investigation into IKEA’s tax deals in the Netherlands.

The Consortium of Investigative Journalists in 2014 cited leaked tax files from Luxembourg when it identified Ikea as one of the giant multinationals fingered for corporate tax avoidance by shuffling money to tax havens.

The group insists that it complies fully with national and international tax regulations.

LEGENDARY FRUGALITY

Kamprad, who was once listed as the world’s fourth richest man, is renowned for his frugality.

He once admitted to purchasing his clothes from flea markets and thrift shops, driving an aging Volvo, and bringing a lunch box to work.

“If you look at me, I think I do not wear anything that was not bought at a flea market, I want to set a good example,” Kamprad told Swedish broadcaster TV4 in 2016.

The billionaire also took discount flights and furnished his modest house almost entirely with Ikea items — which he assembled himself.

His eagerness to save money extended to his visits to London, where he shunned taxis and preferred to use the Tube or buses.

He once took a bus to a gala evening to collect a businessman of the year award — prompting security to refuse to let him in.

THE IKEA LEGACY

News of Kamprad’s death was shared on Twitter with many users celebrating his global empire, but expressing humour about its ultimate legacy: flat-packed, self-assembled furniture, that while sometimes frustrating to put together, did yield some classic designs.

“His legacy will be admired for many years to come and his vision — to create a better everyday life for the many people — will continue to guide and inspire us,” Jesper Brodin, CEO and president of the IKEA Group, said in the statement.